“Live your truth”, “be true to yourself”, and “follow your heart” are slogans that ring throughout our culture today. They claim freedom from authority and freedom for self-reign in all areas of life. For many, it feels liberating to unburden oneself from institutional ideas, governing leaders, or religious obligations.
Under these mantras of freedom, everyone is liberated to chart their own path. Instead of looking to institutions, religion, or family, many young people search their desires for meaning, purpose, and identity. This may work for a period of time, but I’m skeptical it is actually fulfilling. In fact, research shows it leads to the exact opposite end of the spectrum.
90% of Americans believe there is a mental health crisis, according to a study conducted at the Kaiser Family Foundation. We in the west don’t agree on much, but that’s an enormous agreement that something is wrong with our central beliefs and we need to do something about it. Few would disagree that a core belief of our society is “I am my own authority.”
True freedom requires the safeguards of authority
There is a story of a town in the west that had a pack of young kids who would journey off to catch a view of a wild mustang. There were ranchers who would ride out and try to capture it, but the mustang just wanted to be free. And in its freedom it had to hunt for food, wander for water, look for shelter, all while the ranchers tried to tame it. The kids would look out at the mustang and cry out, “let the mustang be free!” We might look out and do the same.
But one day a good rancher found the mustang in its exhaustion looking for provision, and caught him. He took him home, loved him, cared for him, and broke him. Only then was he able to guide the mustang. The rancher led him to food, led him to water, and led him to shelter. The mustang found protection from the world, fulfillment of its needs, and peace in provision. It was not till the mustang was fully submissive to his master that he truly experienced freedom for the first time.
Freedom from all authority is the great lie spoken to Adam and Eve in Genesis. That lie still persists today – and it is always revealed as a lie. Even when mantras are spoken that attempt to deny authority, they only end up affirming it. Think about the common moral standard for today: be true to yourself, as long as it does no harm to others. That’s a sense of freedom, within authoritative boundaries. Freedom is not doing whatever you want to do, it’s doing as you ought to do Freedom is always tied to what is good; a moral system. Freedom is tied to an authority. The question we have to ask is, which authority will we follow?
Only one Authority fulfills the promise of freedom
While “freedom from” leads to anxiety and disappointment, freedom within God’s good design leads to flourishing. This is what Jesus taught in Matthew chapter 6. Jesus declares in verse 24 that “no one can serve two masters.” Therefore, we should trust God, because trusting anything else will lead to anxiety. Jesus then gives an example of how we can learn to trust him, by looking at the birds. Why? Because looking at the world God created and how he cares and provides gives us evidence that God is dependable. Birds are up early working hard building their nests and finding food for their young. Many seem so small and fragile, yet God provides for them. They have no idea where the next twig or bug will come from, yet they live. And when the seasons change, birds fly south as if guided by a magical force. God cares for his creation, and he cares for us.
Jesus says to be in tune with what he has created and how he is at work in the world. God is dependable, he cares for the birds, and Jesus declares “Are you not of more value then they?” (v26) The good Shepherd provides.
Trusting anything other than God will lead to an increase in anxiety because we are building our lives on something that is fundamentally unstable.The cultural promise of “freedom from” is self sufficiency. The fruit of self sufficiency is rising anxiety and isolation – two things no one hopes to achieve when pursuing freedom.
True freedom is found in full submission to the dependable, trustable and good God of the Bible. We will follow someone, let it be the source of goodness, beauty, and truth.
One Question:
First, ask “What authority are you letting speak into your life and how are you chasing its standard of freedom?”
One Action:
Next, look at the birds and remember your good, good Father.
